Portable data storage devices in the form of memory card devices are amongst the most ubiquitous types of data storage devices in use nowadays. One of the reasons for their popularity is because these memory card devices come in various form factors (also known as card formats) which enable the memory card devices to be used in many types of consumer electronic devices, such as for example, a digital camera, a mobile phone, a positioning-navigation apparatus, a desktop computer, a portable computer and so forth.
The internal circuitry of the memory card devices is substantially similar in the memory card devices regardless of form factor. A typical configuration for the internal circuitry of the memory card devices relates to a setup whereby data has to pass through a microcontroller for each and every instance when the memory card device is accessed by the consumer electronic device which the memory card device is connected to, and this continual use of the microcontroller leads to unnecessary power being drained from the consumer electronic device and unnecessary heat generated by the microcontroller.
It would be desirable for users of the consumer electronic devices if the microcontroller of the memory card device did not drain unnecessary power (which would shorten a battery life of the consumer electronic device) and generate unnecessary heat (which would damage internal components of the consumer electronic device).